


The Tea Party

by alynwa



Series: Sugar and Spies Tales [38]
Category: The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-13
Updated: 2013-05-13
Packaged: 2017-12-11 18:33:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/801852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alynwa/pseuds/alynwa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Illya and Napoleon spend some time with their daughter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Tea Party

Leona Nicole was hosting a very special tea party in her bedroom one Saturday afternoon when she was almost four years old.  It was special because not only were both her Daddy and her Papa in attendance, they were drinking real tea Papa had brewed and eating chocolate chip cookies Daddy had baked.  The men were sitting in chairs they had carried into her room while she sat at her tea table along with her dolls and her teddy bear, Rollo.  They had all been having a lovely conversation about their plans for Family Funday Sunday.

“Do you want another cookie, Daddy?” she asked.

“No, thank you, Sweetheart; five is my limit.”

“Papa?”

“I think I have room for one more.  Thank you,” he replied as he gave his child a full on smile.  “Thank you so much for inviting me to your soiree.”

“ _Que signifie la soirée, Papa?  (_ What does soiree mean, Papa?)” she asked with a perplexed look on her face.

“It means party, Little One.”

“Oh.  You’re welcome!  You’re welcome too, Daddy.  Papa, do you and Daddy ever get invited to other parties?”

Napoleon looked down at the devoted little face of the girl who had changed his life so profoundly when Illya claimed her as his own almost two years earlier.  “Sometimes we get invitations.”

The Russian slurped the rest of his tea and swallowed his cookie.  “Most of the time, we do not go to those parties.  I think Daddy will agree with me when I tell you that your parties are much more fun.”

Napoleon held out his arms and when Leona came to him, he lifted her onto his lap.  “Papa is right.  When we go to parties, usually it’s because we are doing it for work.  We come to your tea parties because we can relax and spend time with you.  We like that.”

“I like it, too,” Leona said, “You and Papa are gone so much; I miss you.”  She climbed down from Daddy’s lap and went to Papa.  As was her habit, she kissed the tip of his nose. 

Illya hugged her and kissed her forehead.  “We miss you, Leona Nicole, which is why we spend as much time as we can with you when we are home.  One day, when you are much, _much_ older and do not wish to spend time with us, we will look back on these days with fondness.”

Leona looked shocked, “Papa, that’s not true!  I’ll _always_ want to be with you and Daddy!”

Daddy laughed, “What if you get married when you’re a big girl?  Your husband will want you to stay with him.”

The men both laughed as the little girl shook her head so vehemently that her braids whipped either side of her face.  “No!  I’ll come home to stay with you every night and he can go home to stay with his parents!”

Illya looked at Napoleon.  “Well that settles it then.  Daddy has to go to the home office to work.  How about you, Rollo and I go into the living room and I will read ‘The Little Prince’ to you?  Would you like that?”

“Yes, Papa!” she crowed as she grabbed her bear.  As the three of them left Leona’s room, the two men exchanged looks as Napoleon whispered, “I hope she doesn’t grow up too fast.”


End file.
